Finding a Voice

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Story of Stuff

My cousin Michael is a farmer near in southeast Saskatchewan near the town of Wawota. Last week at Arlington Beach family camp, we had several thought-provoking conversations.

Michael and another cousin, Greg, along with Greg’s wife Cathy, are thinking hard about bio-friendly farming. Greg farms the land that his dad and my dad used to farm together. Recently he’s been wondering why the crops were so good 30-some years ago, but are not as good now. Cathy, not having a farm background and being a very thoughtful, inquisitive type, asks, “Well, what has changed?” So they’ve been investigating soil quality, additives, chemicals, and other factors involved in growing crops, and discovering troubling information. Michael has also been looking into and pondering things like land trusts and living in community.

The lifestyles most of us lead are not sustainable. What will it take to preserve and/or achieve sustainable living?

One of my intentional attempts to make a difference is through selling Norwex Enviro Products, specializing in microfiber mops and cloths, along with other environmentally friendly products. These products are sturdy and designed to be used over-and-over-and-over again, rather than single usage or becoming quickly obsolete.

Today I was looking for information on Norwex in other countries, and discovered The Story of Stuff, a fascinating educational cartoon by Annie Leonard. Just over 20 minutes long, it is both convincting and encouraging. We don’t have to helplessly lament the demise of environments and societies – we can get involved.

Watch it here: The Story of Stuff.

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posted by Colleen McCubbin at 1:14 AM

1 Comments:

wow. just wow. we need to talk about this more

August 06, 2008 2:18 PM  

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